Chapter 131 I'm very picky (Basic + Powder 600)

  The previous chapter has been modified, those who read it earlier (before 12:30 at night) are advised to take another look.

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  Jiang Changyang came out of the study at midnight, he had no intention of sleeping, so he went to the yard to practice boxing, and kept practicing until he was sweating all over. When the sky was slightly bright, he wiped his body with cool water from the well and went back to sleep.

  However, he had only slept for a little over an hour when he was woken up by the low voices of the servants outside his window. It was Youyuan who was serving in his room, speaking softly to Wu San about how he had only fallen asleep at dawn, and Wu San was asking Youyuan if he knew what the reason was.

  Jiang Changyang sat up and shouted: "Wu San, come in."

  Wu San lifted the curtain and came in, seeing him still sitting on the bed, not as lively and spirited as before. He couldn't help but feel slightly surprised, but didn't ask any questions, only smiled and said: "Young master, just now a message was sent from Madame Bai's side saying that she wants to go to Fang Garden and asks someone to guide the way. I didn't know if Miss He had made preparations beforehand, so I first sent someone to inform Miss He."

  "What should I say?"

  "Hei Niangzi sent Da Niang over to pick someone up, Bai Furen and Shi Qi Niang took Pan Xiao Gongzi who had already packed up neatly, after eating breakfast they were ready to leave."

  Jiang Changyang furrowed his brow: "Why are there only the three of them? What about the others? I mean, didn't He Niangzi also invite Pan Shizi yesterday? Didn't she say they were still friends? How come today she only invited Bai Furen and the others, excluding him?"

  Actually, I wanted to ask why you weren't invited? Wu San glanced at his face and said: "How could He Niangzi do such an impolite thing? Of course, everyone was invited. It's just that Pan Shizi hasn't gotten up yet, and Bai Furen didn't let anyone call him. I thought since Pan Shizi is here, you would also have to stay behind to accompany him, so I didn't let anyone come to call you. Should I go wake up Pan Shizi?

  "No need, perhaps the women have some private matters to discuss. We'd better not follow them, it's impolite." Jiang Changyang's expression relaxed a bit, and he got out of bed to dress: "You take a few people with you and personally escort Mrs. Bai and the others over."

  Wu San Dao said: "You won't sleep a bit longer? There's nothing important today."

  Jiang Changyang said while putting on his boots, "I couldn't sleep anyway, I might as well deal with the matters at hand first. Let Yuanyuan come in to attend to my washing."

  Wu San responded, but didn't go out. Instead, he personally fetched water and wrung out a towel to hand it over to Jiang Changyang. Jiang Changyang looked at him for a moment before silently taking the towel.

  Wu San waited until he finished washing up, then said: "The young master's affairs are not urgent and can be delayed. However, I heard from a few village boys that ten miles east of here, there is a mountain forest where the rabbits and wild chickens are quite fat. Why don't you go hunting with Pan Shi-zi and catch two to bring back? It will just coincide with the dinner at Fang Garden, and it's also a good time to meet up with Madame Bai and the others on their way back."

  Jiang Changyang fell silent for a moment before saying, "Alright, you go and make arrangements."

  Wu Sanben wanted to ask him if he still wanted to send out that letter, but after standing still for a moment, he changed his mind and turned around to arrange other things.

  Jiang Changyang picked up a book and flipped through two pages, then irritably put the book back in its original place and got up to go to the Eagle House.

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  Yu He and Peony told the story of Qin San Niang: "He went to Tongshan Fang, but couldn't find Yan Ba Lang. The house was even sold. Lu Wu Gongzi had someone inquire extensively, only to learn that a month ago, Yan Ba Lang's newlywed wife had an affair with someone else, and he divorced her. Afterwards, in Pingkang Li, he got drunk and quarreled with someone, killing him, and was caught on the spot. Now he is locked up in prison waiting for his death sentence. After this incident, his elderly father felt ashamed to face people, so he sold the house and moved the whole family away. Yan Ba Lang is now in prison, without even a single visitor."

  "Peony took a deep breath: 'What about Qin San Niang? Has anyone asked for her news?'"

  Yu He Dao said: "There was a neighbor who said that half a month ago, she saw her at the entrance of a jewelry store in Xicheng. At that time, she and her maid were wearing silk and satin, riding high-headed horses, with five or six tall and strong attendants, and they were also very generous with their money. The neighbor didn't know what good fortune she had encountered. The neighbor wanted to go up and greet her, but Qin San Niang's attendants wouldn't let her get close, and they were fierce and cruel. Now everyone is saying that Qin San Niang has benefited from disaster, saying that if Yan Ba Lang hadn't abandoned her back then, she wouldn't have encountered the good fortune she has now, and some people are even envying her. Lu Wu Gongzi was worried and moved to another house, and he also went to ask Old Master for help, planning to spend a lot of money to investigate her news, fearing that she had been deceived by some bad person and couldn't turn back."

  Peony was speechless for a moment. She didn't think Qin San Niang would be deceived by some scoundrel, combined with the misfortune of the Yan family, she guessed that this was probably Qin San Niang's revenge. The person who took action had a plan, a purpose, and power, while Qin San Niang paid the price, her beauty was her weapon, as for whether she could turn back, it was likely not even within Qin San Niang's consideration.

  Is it worth or not to avenge oneself against such a man with all one's might? Peony has not experienced what Qin San Niang went through, nor can she understand Qin San Niang's feelings and determination. But she thinks that she may also hate and want revenge, but she will not sacrifice her life again for this kind of man and thing.

  Different people face the same thing, often have different choices, Peony can't evaluate whether Qin San Niang did right or wrong, she just hopes that this person Qin San Niang met this time will treat Qin San Niang a little better, not as cruel as Yan Ba Lang.

  Yu He had never met Qin San Niang, and to Yu He, Qin San Niang was a complete stranger. After reporting to Peony, she immediately forgot about Qin San Niang and asked with great interest: "Peony, how's the construction of the Jiang family garden going?"

  Xu Er laughed and said, "It's just a high platform built in the lake, with many bamboo trees planted, water is drawn up and then flows down, nothing else special, not as beautiful as our Fragrant Garden, nor as big." While speaking, she secretly winked at Yu He, hinting that she should stop asking.

  "Others don't make money from their gardens, they just build them for themselves to enjoy, so of course they don't need to be too big. Besides, they have a lot of fields around their houses, unlike us who only have this garden and nothing else, how can you compare?"

  Yu He subtly sensed that something unpleasant had happened the day before, so she gave Su Er a signal with her eyes, indicating for her to follow her out to talk in private. Peony was well aware of their temperaments and knew they must be discussing what had happened the day before, so she paid no attention to them and let them go whisper among themselves while she continued to focus on settling the accounts.

  She had just finished checking this month's expenses and hadn't even had time to add up the numbers when Kuan'er came in to report: "Dan Niang, Bai Furen and the others have already arrived at the gate."

  "Go get Yingniang and Rongniang, we're going out to meet someone right away." Peony hastily tidied up her clothes and hair, then got up and headed outside. Lin Mama asked Kuandai in a low voice, "Who all has arrived? Didn't that Liu fellow come with them?"

  Kuan Erh said: "Not yet. Only Madame White, Wu's wife and that young gentleman have arrived."

  Lin's mother let out a sigh of relief: "It's good that it's like this. I was really worried he would follow us."

  "Mom, what's there to worry about? If he really has no shame and followed us here, we can't just not let him in. In the future, Fangyuan will be open for business, if someone books the garden for a banquet and he's among them, are we going to refuse? Let him come on his own, we'll just treat him like a stray cat or dog."

  Mrs. Lin saw Peony speaking as if nothing was wrong, and she thought of what her son had said to her the day before, and she couldn't help but sigh secretly again. Was it really a mismatch? She pitied her poor daughter Dan. It's better to find someone more reliable, that Lu Wu Lang looked good that day, his family is rich, Yangzhou is far away, and the water and soil are nourishing, just don't know if he has been married? Need to ask Yu He carefully, if the person is not bad, then hurry up and tell Mrs. earlier, it's better to take action early. If Lu Wu Lang doesn't work out, this Lu family will also have many outstanding young men. It's hard to find a three-legged frog, but two-legged men are everywhere, why worry that Dan won't get married?

  Lin's mother thought of this, her mood improved again, and she smiled at Peony: "Peony said it well, Ah Mao and Ah Gou are not as good as him, just treat him like a cow dung on the side of the road."

  Peony didn't know that Lin's mother had made two more plans in the meantime. Seeing Lin's mother's mood improve significantly from yesterday's gloom to now, she also relaxed: "It doesn't matter what others think, mom loves him for who he is."

  In a moment, Yingniang and Rongniang also arrived, and several people went out laughing. From afar, they saw Feng Dama leading Bai Furen and Wu Xilian in. Bai Furen and Wu Xilian were both looking around, occasionally stopping to ask Feng Dama a few questions.

  The peony was a bit nervous. Although this fragrant garden was designed by Master Fuyuan, it had not been evaluated by the likes of Madame Bai and other noblewomen. The likes and dislikes of these noblewomen often brought unexpected effects, largely influencing public opinion. Just like many people thought that the fashion trends from the palace were always the most fashionable, elegant, and best, even if they were actually ugly, they would still be wildly pursued. Even if someone held an opposing view, they wouldn't dare to express it openly, fearing others would laugh at them for being uncultured and lacking taste. In her heart, the fragrant garden was certainly the best, but she didn't know if it could enter Madame Bai's and Wu Xilian's eyes.

  Peony stepped forward quickly, and after exchanging greetings with Madame Bai and Wu Xilian, she introduced Yingniang and Rongniang to them. Then, she said tentatively: "My garden is crude, I'm afraid it's not worthy of your sight, and will only make you laugh."

  Wu Xilian felt a bit uneasy when she saw the peony today, and when she mentioned the garden, she quickly smiled and said: "Where's that? Although it's just roughly formed, I think it has a lot of charm and is very elegant. The winding stream, pavilions, and towers don't need to be mentioned, these stones are truly rare, not to mention your precious peonies. In two or three years, when the trees and grass are lush, it will surely become a famous garden."

  The peony could feel her kind intentions and desire for peace, so she also smiled: "I've always been worried that I couldn't enter your eyes, hearing you say this, my heart has finally put down more than half. Don't just talk about the good things, mention some opinions, while the craftsmen are still here, it's better to make up for it in time."

  Madam Bai smiled and said: "She has already said everything I wanted to say, this garden is really good. Don't worry anymore, just wait for the wealth to roll in."

  Wu Xilian's eyes looked at Mrs. Bai with a hint of strangeness, such a vulgar phrase could come out of Mrs. Bai's mouth... but her mouth involuntarily said: "Hmm, Ah Shen is right, Dan Niang you don't have to worry."

  Madam Bai looked at her with approval and smiled: "Dan Niang, why don't you take us for a walk and have a look around? I'm afraid that later on when there are more people, it won't be as quiet as it is today."

  Having obtained their consent, Peony's interest was piqued: "If you come, I'll close the door for a day just to entertain you, how about that?"

  Wu Xilian was quite different today from yesterday, being very affectionate to Yingniang and Rongniang, which made Peony suspect that she had taken the wrong medicine several times. However, since she was nice to Yingniang and Rongniang, it was better than her usual arrogant and unpleasant self, so Peony also became more polite and gentle in his words.

  The host was diligent, the guests were delightful, and they were all young women. The atmosphere was much better than yesterday. The group wandered around the garden for nearly half a day before going to the Pavilion of Picking Flowers to drink tea, chat and have fun.

  As they were talking, Pan Lian fell asleep. Peony took Madame Bai to the guest room and left Rongniang and Yingniang to accompany Wu Xilian. After settling Pan Lian down, Madame Bai pulled Peony aside to sit down, dismissed the servants, and said: "Dan Niang, Xilian wants me to apologize to you on her behalf. She says she wrongly accused you and asks that you not hold it against her. This child has been spoiled by others since childhood and has developed a straightforward temperament, saying whatever comes to mind without any ill intentions or malice. She's too embarrassed to say it herself, so she asked me to say it for her."

  No wonder Wu Xilian was like that today, she was quite unpleasant when she was being chased to make a vow, but knowing how to apologize wasn't too bad. Peony smiled and said: "She's your friend, how could she be a bad person? I just think she's a bit arrogant and rude, but I didn't think she had any ill intentions. Since she apologized, I naturally won't be angry anymore."

  Madam Bai smiled and said, "I knew you wouldn't be too bothered. She was thinking that Nineteen was her cousin, and they had a very good relationship. She didn't know about this matter, but since she did, she naturally wanted an explanation. Otherwise, it would be unfair to Nineteen, who was harmed because of her. But she didn't expect to hurt you. You didn't give her any face at all, threatening to splash water on her, which made her come to her senses and realize that she was in the wrong, having been deceived by Liu Chan. She told me that you were too fierce, fiercely unreasonable."

  "Peony smiled and said: 'I'm not threatening her, she's forcing me, I really dare.'"

  Mrs. Bai pinched her cheek affectionately and smiled, "I also told her that you absolutely won't threaten her. Didn't you see how cautious she was when talking to you today, always looking at your expression? By the way, Liu Chuan left last night. I heard from Pan Rong that he was punched twice by Jiang Chengfeng. What else did he do to you?"

  Peony's mood was slightly heavy, and after a moment of silence, she told Mrs. Bai what Autumn had said.

  "This Liu Zishu is really too detestable, he just can't bear to see you doing well." Madame Bai gently squeezed Peony's hand and frowned: "But this possibility isn't impossible, the key is how you think about it?"

  "Peony said in a low voice, 'I and he are still far from that stage.' Although he had told her about his affairs on that day, saying that he could make his own decisions, they hadn't explicitly stated it, let alone at this time. At that time, although Wang Furen had been separated from Zhu Guogong for many years, she hadn't remarried, and their son following his mother to show filial piety was still acceptable. If Jiang Changyang wanted to marry someone, he probably could make his own decisions. However, now that Wang Furen is about to marry someone else, Zhu Guogong would definitely not allow him to follow Wang Furen anymore, nor let her arrange things for him. But the bond between mother and son was deep, far beyond what this father could compare to. If they wanted to hold onto Jiang Changyang, granting him a title might not be necessary, but interfering with his marriage was entirely possible."

  Madam Bai sighed and said, "Actually, this kind of thing depends on the man. For example, in the past, Princess Fen and Prince Fen, if he really had the intention and ability not to let you suffer, why wouldn't he? Jiang Changyang is a very good match for marriage, he can protect you."

  "Are you going to replace Madame Cui with another Zhu Guogong?" Peony sighed and said, "These things are about fate, let's not mention it."

  Mrs. Bai was stunned, and it wasn't until after a while that she reached out to touch Mudan's hair. In her heart, however, she had secretly made up her mind that if Jiang Changyang really had intentions, she would definitely do her best to facilitate the matter. What she didn't know was that Pan Rong had given Mudan a heavy blow from behind.

  Peony couldn't help but laugh at the way Madam Bai looked, why did everyone start looking at her with this kind of gaze since yesterday? As if she was some kind of pitiful creature. She pulled down Madam Bai's hand and smiled: "Ah Xian, actually I'm very picky. I want him to protect me, respect me, not interfere with me, not take concubines, not allow him to fool around outside, and also be good to my family and friends. There aren't many men who can meet these conditions, he looks good now but it's uncertain if he can really satisfy them, if it really gets to that point, I'm afraid as soon as I open my mouth he'll get scared away. I'd better observe for a while, maybe I'll encounter the kind of person I mentioned.

  Madam Bai couldn't help but burst out laughing: "Alright, I won't persuade you anymore, lest you miss out on this extraordinary good man. Let's leave Biyu and Ruhuang to watch over things here, we should hurry ahead, or else Ahlian will think we're deliberately ignoring her."

  Two people walked to the Pavilion of Plucking Fragrance, but saw Wu Xilian and Rongniang, Yingniang sitting and playing Go, Yuhe led Kuaner, Shuer in attendance on one side, Shuaishuai was on one side gnawing tree branches, making strange calls, Wu Xilian's maid was fighting grass with Atao and Yingniang, Rongniang's little maidservant under the pavilion, very lively.

  Wu Xilian raised her head and looked at Peony with a hint of shyness, smiling slightly. Peony sat down beside her: "Who won now?"

  Rong Niang said triumphantly: "I won."

  Wu Xilian threw out the arrow in her hand and said, "You've come, I'm the biggest loser, I need to change my luck."

  Peony and Madame Bai had just joined the war camp when Atao burst in with shining eyes: "Young Master Jiang has brought a young master, carrying many wild animals and accompanied by a pair of snow-white falcons. I heard from the craftsmen that the falcon is a white rabbit falcon. Now a large crowd is gathered outside to see the falcon."

  Rongniang and Yingniang immediately stood up excitedly: "Where?"

  "Have they gone hunting?" Peony looked at Mrs. Bai in surprise, and Mrs. Bai was also surprised: "When we went out, Pan Rong was still sleeping. Where can you hunt around here?"

  "Milady, you don't know that about ten miles ahead, there is a mountain forest where there are no large wild animals, but rabbits and pheasants are extremely abundant. The slaves just saw the young masters bring back many of them, most of which were rabbits and pheasants, they must have gone to that place."

  Wu Xilian smiled and said, "Let's go take a look."

  "Go and take a look, I'll go to the kitchen to arrange dinner. I've never entertained so many distinguished guests at once before, it's making me a bit nervous."

  Madam Bai took a look at her, didn't force her, and led the others out. Peony wasn't deliberately trying to avoid Jiang Changyang, but as she said, she had just visited one Cui Madam, and she didn't want to come across another Zhu Guogong. She needed time to think carefully, before she figured out how to deal with Jiang Changyang, it was best to minimize contact with him.

  Jiang Changyang and Pan Rong had a bountiful harvest today, but compared to the pile of wild rabbits and pheasants they brought back, everyone was more interested in the pair of white gyrfalcons with snow-white feathers and purple eyes. Pan Rong proudly showed them off as if they were his own. Jiang Changyang, the actual owner, was pushed aside, holding his hands and watching the commotion, feeling extremely bored.

  Suddenly, Mrs. Feng came out to drive people away: "The young ladies are all coming to see, everyone should go and do what they should do." The crowd of workers dispersed in an instant, and Jiang Changyang only felt a sudden tightness in his chest, and he couldn't help but raise his eyes to look towards the door.

  But then came out one by one, Mrs. Bai, Wu Xilian, Rongniang, Yingniang and others, every time he saw someone come out, his heart couldn't help but jump once, but in the end, it was still a disappointment, until the last maid walked out, and still didn't see Peony's figure. The guest has arrived, she actually avoided to one side? Is she still thinking of slowly clearing up with him like this? Jiang Changyang suddenly became very angry, feeling that all the anxiety, uncertainty, and discomfort that had been accumulating in his heart since last night were all mixed together, making him want to erupt immediately.

  He impulsively asked Ah Tao, who was standing on tiptoes watching the commotion: "Where's your wife?"

  All of Ah Tao's attention was focused on the two beautiful eagles, and she didn't even notice who was asking her questions. Without turning her head, she said: "Go to the kitchen to arrange dinner."

  Jiang Changyang glanced around four times, but saw that everyone was watching the commotion, Pan Rong was busy showing off, and no one noticed him. He turned around and walked towards the approximate location of the Fangyuan kitchen in his memory. After walking two steps, he turned back to pick up two live wild chickens and held them in his hands, only then did he leave with his head held high and chest out.

  Peony went to the kitchen and saw Zhou Banniang preparing dinner, feeling quite satisfied. She thought that things were probably going well in front, so she went out to show her face, fulfill her duties as hostess, and invited the two new guests to go to the back to drink tea and play until dinner time. Then she took Yuhe out of the kitchen and walked along the small stone path towards the front.

  The two of them walked past a Taihu stone and Yuhe pointed ahead, saying: "Danniang, isn't that Young Master Jiang? Where is he going?"

  The peony raised her eyes and saw Jiang Changyang walking over with two wild chickens with extremely long tails, his face looking very bad. As soon as he saw her, he stopped in his tracks, frowning at her, tightly pursing his lips, not smiling at her like he usually did.

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  Late, late, these days are all about practicing red songs, preparing for the competition on July 1st...... So, being late with updates is a normal phenomenon, hehe...... Asking everyone for pink powder